Going East and West
by AaronCottrell97
Summary: After witnessing the beautiful sunrise, Thomas and Emily try to catch views of sunsets and sunrises on Sodor by traveling to eastern and western areas on the island.
Another fine day was closing up on the Island of Sodor. The sun had set and the stars were beginning to shine through the darkening skies. All the engines had been proudly taking visitors around the island. Some were taken along the new Harwick Branch Line and the museum. At Tidmouth Sheds, the engines had returned from their work. Everyone that is, except Thomas and Emily. Since this had happened some times before, Edward knew where they'd be while Gordon and James gossiped about it, not realizing the pleasure love can bring.

Edward rolled his eyes and looked at the moon. " _I'm glad you can't hear the boasting, Thomas, and Emily,_ " Edward thought. " _You two belong together…_ "

In the cozy shelter of Knapford Sheds, Thomas and Emily were talking and kissing quietly, as usual. A few giggles could be heard as they were definitely having fun. Thomas was kissing Emily first, a little like their anniversary.

"O-Oh, Tommy…" Emily giggled softly as she felt Thomas suck her cheek ever-so gently. "He-he-he…Aww, Thomas, that feels so nice…"

Thomas smiled as he kept kissing his angel. They loved sleeping at Knapford Sheds. Not only could they sleep, feeling perfectly comfortable and safe together, but they also had so much fun expressing their love here. Soon, Thomas stopped and let Emily cover his cheeks with her lovely warm kisses, and a few times, she buffered closer and gently licked his cheek.

"Mmm…Emily…I love you so much, sweetheart…Gosh, I love your kisses…" Thomas sighed.

"And I love yours, honey. Being kissed by you makes me so happy…I love you," Emily whispered as she continued to pamper, cuddle and kiss her favorite blue engine. After 10 minutes, they rested and looked into each other's sparkling eyes.

"I had a wonderful day, Thomas," said Emily. "Taking visitors into the hills…I don't say it enough, but Sodor is very beautiful."

"I fully agree, darling," replied Thomas. "And I'm sure you know the most beautiful place of all."

Emily smiled and gave his cheek a kiss, as she knew what he meant…Black Loch. Only recently, a storm hit and badly damaged it but thanks to Thomas and Henry, it was restored to its former beauty. She couldn't get over how sweet and considerate Thomas was of her. If ever she felt uncomfortable or sad, he would put in so much effort to make her feel better.

"I'm very grateful that you and Henry brought that place back, Thomas. You're a really smart engine," she said.

The two engines continued to quietly chat about their day, and occasionally exchange nose-touches and kisses until Emily let out a deep yawn.

"Feeling sleepy?" Thomas smirked. "Yeah. I had a busy day, but that's what I like…and I love sleeping here with you, Thomas. You make me feel so safe and peaceful, my cobalt star," whispered Emily.

"And sleeping with you keeps me warm, even on winter nights, my emerald angel," Thomas smiled, making Emily blush pink. She leaned in and kissed him goodnight. "Sweet dreams, Thomas."

"Sweet dreams, Emily." Then the two of them fell asleep, touching noses and wearing calm, content smiles.

Several hours later, Thomas felt a slight brightness through his closed eyes. He opened them and saw Emily, still fast asleep and wearing the same peaceful smile. She took a deep breath and sighed happily in her sleep. Then Thomas checked the shed's clock…5:25 a.m. He looked to his right, through the window where the brightness was coming from and gasped quietly…Just creeping over the horizon was Sodor's sunrise. Gradually, the deep-blue sky formed pinkish-red creases in the clouds and soon the orange sun just began to peak over.

"My heavens!" Thomas whispered. He started to gently pull Emily out of the sheds. When they were outside, he spoke up. "Emily…Emily. Wake up, wake up, Emily!"

Emily's tired eyes flickered then slowly opened. "Ohh…" she yawned sleepily. "Thomas…what is it?"

"Look at the sun," said Thomas. Emily looked to her left. Suddenly, her eyes went wide open and she was fully awake.

"Oh…my…goodness! That looks…beautiful!" she whimpered as a tear of joy dripped out of her eye. "Oh, Tommy! Why did we oversleep and miss such beauty?"

"I don't know Emily. It saddens me that we've missed so many sunrises…but this gives me an idea…This evening, we should be on a westerly section of Sodor. We can see the sunset from there."

"So we shall, Tommy," Emily chirped as she kissed him good morning. They decided to leave right away rather than wait for their work schedule to start. They went closer to the sunrise…in an Eastern direction. By the time they reached the yards, they were close enough to get a good look at the approaching morning. While they waited in the yards for the Fat Controller to arrive and give them their schedule, they took their chance to watch the sunrise. The pinkish-red clouds slowly changed to orange, the sun grew higher and brighter, and the blue in the sky became lighter as the Fat Controller drove in. He was surprised to see two of his engines in the yards, ready for work, well before the others would be awake.

"Thomas? Emily? Why are you up so early?" he asked. "The others won't be awake for quite some time."

"Oh, we don't mind an early start, sir," Emily said pleasantly. "We just want to keep a smooth schedule," added Thomas as he gave Emily a wink. The Fat Controller was slightly confused, but nevertheless, he assigned trains to Thomas and Emily. While Thomas was sent to work on his Branch Line with Annie and Clarabel then collect stone from the quarry, Emily was sent to deliver soil for planting new flowers along the hills, then deliver rolls of bunting to Ulfstead Castle.

On his Branch Line, all Thomas could think about was getting his work done so he and Emily wouldn't miss out on their sunset date. Annie and Clarabel had a feeling he was daydreaming.

"Not rolling so smoothly. What are you thinking about, Thomas?" asked Annie and Clarabel.

"About tonight's sunset," said Thomas. "Emily and I want to see it tonight." As he took Annie and Clarabel along his line, he kept thinking about good spots to watch the sunset from, but there were so many worthy places, such as Gordon's Hill, Brendam Docks, Arlesburgh Harbour, Ulfstead Castle and Black Loch, he couldn't decide on which place to be at. After he finished his duties on his Branch Line, he was on his way for the quarry. While his trucks were loaded with stone, he started to daydream about his date…and didn't move away from the hopper. His trucks started to overflow.

"Thomas!" Mavis called. "Clear the hopper!" Thomas snapped out of his daydream and moved well away. Mavis asked Thomas, "Did you fall asleep…like me, when you woke me up too early?"

"No, Mavis," said Thomas sheepishly. "I was thinking about a date with Emily tonight." And he told her about his plan…but he still didn't know where the best place would be.

"Don't worry, Thomas," reassured Mavis. "I'm sure you'll find the perfect place to see the sunset with Emily in time." Thomas smiled and went on his way as he finally came up with the right place to be that evening…

Meanwhile, Emily had delivered the soil to the hillsides. She watched the gardeners place flower-mounds in the soil. To her and Thomas, flowers were lovely. She smiled with delight as she watched the bees pollenate the other flowers. To Emily, the buzzing didn't sound scary, it was just one of the many sounds of nature. One little bee flew up to her and landed on her running plate. It looked at her, then did a little trick in the air. It flew in some spiraling shapes then flew off, making Emily chuckle. Then she looked back at the flowers. It made her so happy to recall when Thomas gave her flowers on their anniversary…she loved all kinds of flowers, but roses were her favorite ever.

While taking the bunting up to Ulfstead Castle, she too was thinking about a good place to be that evening. By now, it was 2:00 in the afternoon and the sun was just in the middle of the sky. Upon her arrival at Ulfstead Castle, she saw Caitlin.

"Hello, Emily!" she whistled.

"Hi, Caitlin."

"You look very happy. What's your plan?" asked Caitlin.

"Thomas and I are hoping to meet somewhere with a westerly view to watch the sunset," said Emily.

"How marvelous. You're so lucky to have a friend like Thomas, always there for you when you need him," said Caitlin. Then her guards whistle blew and she was off in a flash. Emily watched with a smile as Caitlin left. She remembered saving her when her brakes failed, and even though she wondered about being streamlined, Victor did have a good point…

" _Why would you want to do that? You're a great engine, Emily, just the way you are,_ " he had said. And Emily knew he was right. She looked much more beautiful as herself anyway.

Upon completion of her work, Emily wondered round the island for a couple of hours, thinking about suitable places for a sunset view. After several possibilities and considerations, she returned to the yards and waited for Thomas. It was now 7:00 p.m. in the evening. The sun was just beginning to lower. Ten minutes later, Thomas arrived, looking more excited than ever when he saw his angel ready and waiting.

"Hello, cutie," Emily purred.

"Hello, sweetheart," Thomas replied. Emily smiled with a blush.

"Do you have a destination in mind?" she asked.

"Indeed." With that, Thomas coupled to Emily, told her to close her eyes and they were off. After twenty minutes, she was told to open her eyes. When she did, Black Loch, more beautiful than before was in sight.

"Aww, Thomas. You always know how to make me happy," smiled Emily. Thomas simply smiled at her and for almost another hour, they watched in silence as the sun disappeared over the lake and horizon. The bright blue sky slowly became deeper blue, the sun turned from yellow to orange, and pinks and reds began to reappear in the clouds like those that morning, only this time, it was even more colorful.

Thomas looked over to Emily and instantly started crying with uncontrollable excitement over what he saw. "Thomas? What's the matter?" Emily asked. But Thomas was happy. "Emily…oh my gosh…you look so…beautiful! You look heavenly!" Emily looked at her water reflection and gasped. Thomas was right. The sunset was giving her a spectacular glow of orange against her emerald paint.

"Don't I look like a queen?" she beamed, stifling a giggle.

"Understatement," said Thomas. "An angel is more like it." With that said, Thomas and Emily fell into their usual kissing-spell, enjoying the soft warm feeling of each other's lips, only pulling apart a few times over the course of another hour. Finally as the sun disappeared, they were satisfied with their exchanges and decided to rest. By now, the moon had risen and the stars had appeared.

"I love you, Thomas…I love you with all my heart…" Emily whispered.

"I love you too, Emily…Looking forward to the sunrise?"

"Yes…but we need an eastern area for that," Emily murmured.

"Leave that to me," Thomas winked. He coupled to Emily once again and gently pulled her along the line. They finally stopped near Kellsthorpe Road in a siding next to a meadow facing the east. Thomas winked at Emily again, to which she responded with a smile and a yawn, telling him they were both ready for a lovely sleep together.

"Goodnight, Emily. See you in the morning," whispered Thomas.

"Goodnight, Thomas. Sweet dreams," whispered Emily.

With that, the two engines fell asleep buffer-to-buffer, under the stars, knowing well that they'd wake up to another beautiful sunrise. This and many more sunrises and sets to come.

* * *

Well that was something wasn't it? Right now there is only one more story that was written by Jeremy and that is "Beauty Sleep." After that it's just going to be "Thomas and Emily's Relationship" updates, after that we'll be working on the LukexMillie story that won the poll, so look forward to that. Leave a review and see ya next week for "Beauty Sleep."


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